Traveling with a Child to South Africa – New Laws

Planning on traveling to South Africa with your child? If so, it’s super important to keep in mind South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs’ new laws pertaining to traveling with minors (children under the age of 18). The new laws were effective on June 1, 2015 and were put in place in order to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) child trafficking across South African borders.

But the laws aren’t as simple as “show your child’s birth certificate.” There are several different documents that parents will need to show in order to bring their children on a South Africa safari vacation. Not to mention there are several different scenarios that warrant different types of documents. For example, a single parent traveling with a minor, or two parents traveling with a minor (both biological parents but different last names), a child traveling alone, etc.

Is your head spinning yet from all those different scenarios? Well, fear not, there is an app that can help you figure out what documents you need! The app, which is called the South African Child VISA Checklist App, was created by Andre Van Kets who says that there are “15 different documents and 37 unique scenarios for children traveling in and out of South Africa.”

This app is designed to simplify the process in figuring out what documents you need for traveling with a minor. All you have to do is download the app and answer two to three multiple-choice questions that will then generate a list of the appropriate documents you’ll need.

The questions ask about whom the child is traveling with. Specifically, the questions cover the status of the parents (divorced, married, etc.), as well as any special circumstance, such as if the child is adopted, if both parents are alive, etc.

The app, which can be downloaded on your mobile device or computer desktop, then generates a list of documents you’ll need, based on your responses. The app also includes links to official documents from the Department of Home Affairs, as well as frequently asked questions.